Leffler's death won't change NASCAR culture

Jun. 13, 2013

NASCAR Busch series driver Jason Leffler with the Busch Pole Award after he won the pole in qualifying for the Winn Dixie 250 auto race at the Daytona International Speedway in 2007 Leffler died after an accident in a heat race at a dirt car event at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J., Wednesday night. / Associated Press

Written by

Jeff Gluck

USA Today Sports

Another race car driver is dead, but that cold fact will not discourage a single racer from competing this weekend.

Jason Leffler died Wednesday night after a crash at a New Jersey dirt track, leaving behind 5-year-old son, Charlie, who friends said idolized his father. Leffler was 37.

Those outside racing might wonder what Leffler, who drove his only Sprint Cup Series race this season last weekend at Pocono, was doing in Wednesday night’s race. Leffler was not a superstar, but he was not a local short track racer, either.

“Because they are true racers, and that is what they do,” said former Charlotte Motor Speedway president H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler.

They do it for the love of speed, competition and the thrill of taking the checkered flag — but they all know what could happen when they strap into a car capable of traveling at uncomfortable speeds.

Drivers cannot win without finding the line between maximum speed and wrecking, so they go right up to it and sometimes go over — with disastrous results.

There have been no deaths in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup circuit since Dale Earnhardt’s fatal crash in the 2001 Daytona 500, thanks in part to safety innovations such as soft walls, head and neck devices and a dramatically safer car.

But the type of racing done on dirt tracks is a different story. The cars and tracks are not as safe — there are no SAFER barriers, for example, and the cars are more open — leaving drivers less protected. The risk level is higher.

Leffler was not the only driver to moonlight on short tracks. Kasey Kahne and three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart, who grew up on dirt tracks in Indiana, race on dirt all the time. Countless others make it a hobby, from Clint Bowyer to Dave Blaney, who was in Wednesday night’s race with Leffler.

Though Leffler could not capitalize on Cup rides with Chip Ganassi Racing (2001) and Joe Gibbs Racing (2005), he was a NASCAR regular until last year. The fact he could race anything opened more doors.

“Many drivers will venture outside NASCAR even after a long career to minor-league venues in potent and sometimes dangerous race cars,” Wheeler said. “We have probably the only sport where an athlete does this particularly in the late shadow of a career.”

Bad things can happen, yet drivers keep racing. They always will.

Leffler will be mourned for years. His family, friends and fans will never forget him; their loss will stay with them always.